Quick Hits 5/28/09

Gasol decided to stop holding the ball (LeBron – take note) and was decisive with the ball in the post and Odom actually played well. They are co-winners of the stat line of the night ; Gasol had 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 blocks and 2 steals and Odom had 19 points, 14 boards, 3 assists and 4 blocks.

Quick stat run down:

The Lakers out-blocked the Nuggets 12-5.

J.R. Smith shot 3-for-13 from the field and 1-for-10 from three. He could be so much better.

Both teams shot poorly from distance. The Lakers were 3-for-16 for 18.8 percent and Denver shot 7-for-24 for 29.2 percent.

Derek Fischer had two more shots then Chauncey Billups (9-7). WHAT?!

This game continued to prove the Lakers can turn it on and off when they feel the need and that Sasha Vujacic will not be back with the Lakers. Vujacic “highlight of the night” was his reaction to an Odom and-one. The best thing he did all night.

Kobe’s non-Kobe night always demonstrates a trend (LeBron – take note), when the superstar scores 45, it is because he has to. Jordan’s teams rarely won in double figures when he scored 40 or more points. The best games came when Jordan was finding teammates and they were hitting shots (not to the rest of the Cavs).

The LeBrons: Get to Work

The locker before the start of game 5 is going to as tension filled as the season premiere of Jon and Kate Plus Eight.

What is going with the offense in Cleavland? Watching the Cavs in the fourth quarter is painful and no point comes easily. I am not sure what Mike Brown can do, but every player without the last name James, needs to make more shots. It’s that simple. Mo Williams and Donte West get looks, but are shooting poorly. And the post game is just like the Lakers, limited at best.

The Magic have been very impressive. The have the size at every position and are quicker at most. They are a hot team and it will take a LeBron like performance from someone other than LeBron, for the Magic not to advance. But they will take nothing for granted.

The Magic are doing the greatest psych job on the Cavs. They call LeBron the greatest player, saying he is unstoppable, which they haven’t. But they have stop everyone else. The more that Stan Van Gundy and the Magic, talk about how unstoppable LeBron is, the more the rest of the Cavs sit back and watch.

Manchester United vs. Barcelona

Lionel Messi lead Spain’s best past the English Champions, beating them 2-0 in Rome. ManU came out strong putting pressure on Barca, but the Samuel Eto’o goal at eight minutes, turned the match on it’s head and Barca looked in control all game. The game was capped with Messi’s header at 70 minutes from a nice cross from Xavi.

With the win, Messi should secure the Player of the Year awards. It was a good game, but United were shell shocked after the first goal.

DTP NBA Mock Draft

In the coming days, maybe a week or two, but defiantly before the draft, we will have a mock draft breaking downs the picks for the June NBA Draft.